Business Activity in Uzbekistan Maintained a Positive Trend in August

In August, the following changes were observed across the BAI components:

• the component reflecting the number of transactions on business entities’ bank accounts decreased by 6.2%;
• the intensity of raw material purchases on the commodity exchange increased by 2.7%;
• the component reflecting active business entities increased by 2.3%;
• the trademarks component decreased by 12.5%.

In addition, month-on-month growth in the BAI was recorded in 6 regions. The most significant increases were observed in Syrdarya region (37.9%), the Republic of Karakalpakstan (36.6%), Tashkent city (7.6%), Jizzakh region (7.2%), Navoi region (4.5%) and Khorezm region (2.9%).

In the remaining 8 regions, the indicator declined. The most significant decreases were recorded in Bukhara region (−19.5%), Surkhandarya region (−18.6%), Kashkadarya region (−16.3%), Namangan region (−11.4%) and Fergana region (−10.7%).

Interbank Payment Transactions

During the reporting period, the number of interbank payment transactions amounted to 7,185.9 thousand, which was 474.9 thousand transactions, or 6.2%, lower than in July 2026. Compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, the number increased by 18.9%.

The number of interbank payment transactions decreased in all 14 regions. In particular, a significant decline in the number of banking transactions between legal entities compared with the previous month was recorded in Karakalpakstan (25.3%), Syrdarya region (24.4%), Jizzakh region (21.8%) and Namangan region (20.2%).

This decline was due to a reduction in the total number of payment documents processed through the Central Bank’s interbank electronic payment system. Compared with July 2026, the number of memorial orders decreased by 9.6%, or 234.1 thousand; payment orders by 3.5%, or 167.6 thousand; payment requests by 9.8%, or 1.9 thousand; and collection orders by 18.0%, or 71.3 thousand.

Exchange Component

The exchange component of the BAI stood at 1.0267, increasing by 2.7% compared with the previous month. At the same time, the average volume of goods purchased per transaction increased by 21.1%, while the number of concluded transactions decreased by 15.8%.

The total value of trading in 34 major commodity groups on the Republican Commodity Exchange amounted to 9,138 billion sums in August 2026, which was 6% lower than a month earlier.

The main factors supporting exchange activity were increases in trading volumes compared with the previous month:

• compound feed — 11.4 times;
• coal — 7.6 times;
• AI-91 gasoline — by 49%;
• polypropylene — by 34%;
• cottonseed meal — by 31%;
• technical seeds — by 21%.

Active Business Entities

During the reporting period, the component reflecting active business entities stood at 1.0231, increasing by 2.3% compared with the previous month.

At the same time:

• the total number of active business entities increased by 11,620 and reached 547.6 thousand;
• the number of large enterprises increased by 143 to 4,802;
• the number of small enterprises increased by 10.9 thousand to 451.9 thousand;
• the number of farms increased by 575 to 90.9 thousand.

Trademarks

The trademarks component stood at 0.8746, decreasing by 12.5% compared with the previous month.

During the period, legal entities registered 488 trademarks and trade names.

Islombek Saparmatov, CERR